Supply chain AI data standards are changing and interoperability is a top priority.
Paul Noble
How ISO 25500 is designed to transform supply chain data trust, boost AI, and put fraudsters on notice. a conversation with peter bensonfounder of ECCMA.
The world of supply chain has a data problem, and it’s getting worse. Fraud is increasing. AI tools are only as smart as the data fed to them. Customs agencies are already using machine learning to flag shipments containing incomplete or unverified information. And for the millions of businesses that depend on seamless cross-border trade and commerce, the cost of getting it wrong is measured not just in delays, but in dollars.
I connected with this samuel pasquier Regarding Cisco’s State of Industrial AI Report early this month. The study shows that 61% of respondents are actively deploying AI or looking to deploy at scale, while 97% of participants expect AI workloads to have a negative impact on their industrial networks.
Into this scenario stepped ISO 25500, a new series of international standards aimed at supply chain digital transformation. Peter Benson, founder of ECCMA and the driving force behind the development of the standards, sat down with me and explained what ISO 25500 means, why it matters now, and what every supply chain organization, systems integrator, consultant, and application provider should do about it.
A pandemic, a crisis and a call to action
The genesis of ISO 25500 dates back to 2020, when COVID-19 exposed how fragile global supply chains really were. As factories closed and logistics networks declined, supply chain managers suddenly felt the need to communicate with a broader community of suppliers than ever before, and needed data they could actually trust.
ISO responded decisively. “They established a working group focused on developing standards to make it easier to quickly build interoperable and integrated supply chains.” The result, years in the making, is the ISO 25500 series, the first draft of which was completed this year, with public review expected soon.
Building on the foundation of ISO 8000 data quality standards, ISO 25500 expands further by adding data exchange protocols that leverage open, government-backed identity verification. The goal: Eliminate the anonymity and impersonation that allow bad actors to exploit supply chain relationships and create a trusted ecosystem for the exchange of verified, standardized supply chain data in what ISO 25500 calls the “Industrial Internet.”
What is the Industrial Internet?
A data exchange ecosystem that gives AI access to authoritative, verified supply chain data – enabling trusted, interoperable digital transactions between buyers, suppliers, and government agencies.
Three problems. a standard
Benson is direct about what ISO 25500 is designed to solve. He identifies three fundamental challenges that have affected supply chains for years and are now reaching a tipping point.
The first challenge for AI is data quality. Every organization racing to deploy AI in their supply chain operations is struggling to clean their data to solve the age-old problem: garbage in, garbage out. Running back to the old data-cleaning playbook makes sense in theory, but it hasn’t proven to be a scalable approach to giving AI agents what they really need: verified data.
The second is the problem of trust. Supply chain fraud is not only growing faster than supply chain applications, but it is also becoming technologically sophisticated. Benson pulls no punches on this point:
“Bad actors are everywhere, and supply chain fraud efforts are already leveraging AI. You can expect more of them, and expect them to get faster and more sophisticated.”
-Peter Benson, Founder, ECCMA
As Benson says, “Inability to verify data, delays, and undervaluation of AI opportunities.” For organizations that have already dedicated significant resources to AI-powered tools, this is not an abstract concern. This is a live problem reducing ROI right now.
The third challenge is process automation. Automated workflows rely on consistent, verified data from trusted sources. When that data is unstructured or inconsistent, it creates exceptions and errors that destroy the efficiencies that automation provides. ISO 25500 addresses all three by providing a data exchange infrastructure that makes trust, quality, and consistency the default rather than the exception.
When data failure has a price tag
To understand the real-world stakes, Benson presents a scenario that will resonate with anyone who has ever had a shipment stopped at customs. Government agencies, including customs officials, are already deploying AI to verify HS tariff codes on exported goods. When an item description does not contain enough structured data for the system to verify the code, the result is immediate: the shipment is flagged, delayed, and potentially reclassified at a higher duty rate.
Benson puts it clearly: “When you are exporting goods, probably the last thing you want to receive from Customs is a notice of insufficient data to validate the HS tariff code.” The financial consequences of both delayed costs and potential reclassification can be completely avoided with the right data standards.
This is not a risk of some imaginary future. This is happening today, and the adoption of AI-powered compliance verification by government agencies is accelerating. ISO 25500 compliance is not only good practice, it is becoming a prerequisite for frictionless business.
Who needs to take action and why
The implications of ISO 25500 reach across the entire supply chain ecosystem, and Benson emphasizes that different stakeholders have different, but equally urgent reasons to engage.
For supply chain organizations, the pressure is coming from both directions. Buyers who have deployed AI tools are demanding better, verified data to promote those tools. On the liability front, a development that Benson cites as particularly important: with the increase in corporate fraud, failure to verify a supplier’s identity is expected to become grounds for denying an insurance claim.
This turns compliance from an operational nicety into a boardroom issue. “Organizations that cannot demonstrate that they have verified who they were doing business with will find their insurers very unforgiving if something goes wrong.” It’s the kind of sentence that makes a CFO sit up straight.
For systems integrators and consultants alike, the message is clear: A wave of ISO 25500-driven transformation projects is coming. Organizations will need expert guidance to plug into a compliant infrastructure, and people with the right credentials and training positioned to lead that work.
For application providers, Benson has special enthusiasm. The Industrial Internet is being built in part to directly serve this community.
“Application providers need verified, authoritative data. There is now a standard way to plug in and provide it to your customers, just like you do payment processing.”
-Peter Benson, Founder, ECCMA
Standard APIs are being made available to connect application providers to existing data resources, enabling AI-powered supply chain features that can truly be trusted. For providers who have not yet joined ISO 25500, Benson is clear: now is the time.
Supply Chain Organization: Manufacturing, Retail, Distribution and Suppliers
Verified supplier identities, trusted AI insights, and fraud protection with strict insurance requirements.
System Integrators & Consultants
A growing wave of transformation projects that require ISO 25500 expertise and certified guidance.
application provider
Standard APIs for accessing authoritative data, the raw fuel for next-generation AI features.
path to compliance
For organizations ready to act, the path to ISO 25500 compliance is straightforward. You need to know your ISO 25500 International Business Identifier (IBID), which combines your business registration number, legal name and date of formation into one identifier that can be verified with your local business register. Benson outlines a clear progression: Start with improving your understanding of data quality, portable data, and interoperability. To help with this, ECCMA offers free online courses for the ISO 8000 Master Data Quality Manager Certificate and the ISO 25500 Supply Chain Data Manager Certificate. Couple this with an independent assessment of data quality and a corrective report, so that deficiencies are highlighted and addressed.
For application providers, ISO 25500 unlocks access to a full toolkit: “Standard APIs that make it easy to use the Industrial Internet to obtain and verify the data needed to provide valuable and reliable insights to your applications.” Benson suggests that the competitive advantage of early adoption will be significant.
how to get started
Make sure you (and your suppliers) can be easily identified using your ISO 25500 International Business Identifier (IBID), add it to your signature line, and use your IBID where you need to be identified, such as on your website, purchase orders, invoices, and of course, in contracts.
2026: Year of the Industrial Internet
Benson concludes with an optimistic but grounded outlook. Years of discussion about AI and digital transformation in the supply chain have left behind the infrastructure needed to make them a reality. He argues that ISO 25500 ultimately provides that basic framework.
He believes the conditions are coming together: “Real-time fact checking, authoritative data, verified identities, these are all prerequisites for AI to really deliver on the promise of your supply chain.” His challenge to the industry is simple: Make 2026 the year of the Industrial Internet, and get supply chain data that everyone can trust.
Given the forces already at play, rising fraud, pressure for AI adoption, insurance liability shifts, and government compliance automation, this ambition looks less like wishful thinking and more like an idea whose time has come.
